Inker



1 J. KUNZ Jan. 18, 1944.

INKER Filed Dec. 10, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 'INVENTOR Joh n Kun J. KUNZ Jan. 18, 1944.

,INKER Filed Dec. 10, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 k \wv INVENTOR John Kun;

Jan. 18, 1944. J KUNZ 2,339,275

INKER Filed Dec.. 10, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Joh n K ung Patented Jan. 18, 1944 UlN'i TE D STAT ES PATE NT OFFICE INKER John Kunz; Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Miller Printing Machinery 00., Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 10, 1940, Serial No. 369,492

11 Claims.

,shipwith the ink supplyingmeans. Such'shifting of the-outermost form rollerreduces the areaof I theiorminked by all of "the form rollers .-f.or a

given 'amplitudeoflmovement of theiorm and is highly disadvantageous. The form rollers are made of a composition which results inmaterial changes in sizeithereof due to wear and temperature and atmosphericchanges. With theink feeding arrangements which have hereto-fore been employed the lower limit ofthe diameter of the outermost lform roller .has been quite limited. In other .words, after the outermost form ;roller had had its diameter reduced to la :predetermined'extentit could no longer continue'inuse since ifurther use of it would require moving it away fromthe printlngcylinder to such an ex- :tent that 'itwould not be possible to eproperly ink an adequate areaof the form.

'li'orexample, it has been customaryto supply ink to theform rollers irom a fixedly mounted rotary distributing drum in rolling contact with the outermost form roller--that is, the form -To1ler farthest removed from the printing cylinder. With such an-ar-rangement reduction in --size of the formroller inengagement with the drum necessitatesadjustment of -the form roller away from the printirrgcylinder in order that it may maintain proper cooperative relationship with the drum.

I have invented anovel inker-and arrangement of inking rollerswhich obviate the disadvantages incident to'theprior structures as abovepointed out. lprOVide for delivering-inkto a formroller by means shiftable upon changes in diameter T ofthe form roller to maintain proper cooperative relationship therewith. Thus the necessity of moving thelform roller away fromtheprinting A cylinderisohviated. :Indeedwhenthe diameters of :the form rollers ihecome materially wreduced -.they;may:be moved-closer togetherethanowhenof their original size, which movement may lbe'effected bymoving'the outermostiormwoller to- .1.

ward the printing cylinder and toward the neighboring form roller. This actually increases the area of the form eiiectively inked by all of the form rollers for a given amplitudeof movement of-the form whereas previously when the worn outermost form roller had to be adjusted away 'from the printing cylinder the opposite effect was necessarily, although undesirably, obtained.

I provide for delivering ink to a form roller vby ink delivering means including a transfer r ller o n ac in form r l d mounting thetransferroller so that it is shiftable to maintain on a with t e mhr le u on n es in size of the form roller without necessarily moving the f rmrq le a one h form, al ho g as above mentioned-in certain-cases the form roller may be-tmovedtowardtt e pri n cyl d r wherebyto increasegthe effectiveness of the inker .when .the ,diameterio h -"form l s n anemploying a plurality of form rollers has been .materially.reduced. I pr ejfer to employ one or Jmore transfer rollersinterposed between the ink drum and the outermost form roller, although the ink drummayitself contact the outermost form roller and itself constitute a .transfergroller for delivering ink 'directly to such form roller. -In one embodiment of the invention .the ..outermost form roller does not have direct contact with therink drum androller mechanismin the size of the outermost form roller-they can be moved around the drum to maintain their engagement with the o termost form roller 'as well as with the drum. in another embodiment the ink drum itself may directly contact'the outermost formroller and upon changes in sizeof "the latter theinkdrum itself, together ,with its associated ink distributin rollers, may. be moved relatively to the form roller.

Other details, objects and advantagesof the invention will become apparent as the following description of ,certain present preferred embodiments thereof proceeds,

In th accompany n draw ngs I h e own certa n p es n re e ed embo en of t e invent on. in which :Eiaureldsaaide elev ti nale iew, arge ydi erammatie d th ;r ertiens,;.bmken away,

the rollers 22 and 23. the form roller 2| by way of rollers 29 and 30. A

through an inking mechanism, the press bed being shown in vertical cross section;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 1 but in a different position;

Figure 3 is a view generally similar to Figure 1 showing a modified construction;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the parts in a different position; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing the parts in a still different position. Y

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a printing press of the reciprocating fiat bed type comprises inking mechanism indicated generally at Ill, a reciprocating bed II and a cylinder I2 cooperating therewith. Ink is delivered to the inking mechanism I II from the usual fountain by a fountain roller I3. A fountain ductor M has intermittent contact with the fountain roller I3 and a vibrating roller I5 forming part of the inking mechanism proper. Composition rollers l6 have peripheral engagement with an ink distributing drum IT. The roller I5 engages two of the rollers I6 while an additional roller I8 engages the third roller I6 and one of the two first mentioned.

The fountain ductor I4 oscillates in the usual manner from a position in which it engages the fountain roller I3 to a position in which it engages the vibrating roller I5. The ink thus transferred from the fountain to the inking mechanism proper is distributed by the cooperative action of the several rollers and the distributing drum I'I. 1 7

Form rollers I9, and 2I are adapted to have rolling engagement with the form-mounted on the bed II as the latter reciprocates. The form rollers I9 and-20 obtain ink from the distributing drum I! by means of a composition roller 22 having rolling engagement with thedrum and a vibrating roller 23 having rolling engagement with the rollers I9, 20 and 22. The drum II, incidentally, is driven in the .usual manner, i. e., by a rack 24 on the bed, a pinion 25 meshing therewith, and gears 26 and 21,.the latter of which mesheswith agear keyed to the shaft 2 8 of the .drum.

The rearmost form rollerl2I'obtainsfits supply of ink from thedrum II through aroller mechanism including a composition roller 29 having rolling engagement with the drum, and a steel roller 30 having rolling engagement with the rolls 2jI 'and29. Neither of the rollersZI and 33 gear 38. A pinion 39 meshing. with a rack 43 on the bed drives the gear 38. The pinions 25'and 33 and the gears 26, 21 and 38 are alljournaled on'shafts carried'in the frame of thepress in the usual manner, as are also the various composition and steel rollers making up the inking mechanism. 1 It Willbe understood from the foregoing description that ink passes from the distributing drum I! to the form rollers I9 and 20 by way of Similarly, ink passes to steel roller M has rolling engagement with the form rollers 20 and 2I and insures uniform ink distribution therebetween.

Figure 1 of the drawings shows the rollers 29 and 33 adjusted for the maximum size and spacing of the form inking rollers. If changing atmospheric conditions or wear should cause a reduction in the size of the form inking rollers to the extent indicated in Figure 2, the rollers I9 and 20 are adjusted closely together so as to maintain rolling contact with the roller 23. The

. such arrangement permits the uniform rearmost form roller 2I is also adjusted closer to the roller 20. The rollers 29 and 30 are then adjusted so that the roller 30 has engagement with the roller 2i and the roller 29 with the drum II. When the desired adjustment of the rollers 29 and 33 has been efiected, the set screws 34 are tightened to maintain the proper adjustment.

By means of the arrangement described in the foregoing, the desired close spacing of the form inking rollers is maintained at all times. It is unnecessary to retract the roller 2| to an extent such that it engage the drum I! after shrinking due to changing atmospheric conditions or reduction in size due to wear, as was the case heretofore. The close spacing of the form rollers is desirable-for the reason stated above, i. e., that inking of the maximum area on the form. I

In Figure 3 there is shown a modified structure' generally similar to that of Figures 1 and 2 but eliminating the rollers 29 and 30. In Figure 3 parts corresponding to the parts designated in Figures 1 and 2 are designated by thes ame reference numerals as appear in Figures land 2 but each with a prime affixed. The rearmost or outermost form roller 2| of Figure 3 has direct contact with the drum IT. The drum is driven through gearing just'as in Figure 1 but is difierently mounted. A frame 42 is pivotally supported upon the shaft 43 which carries the gear 21'. The frame 42 has a handle 44 through which it may be turned about the axis of the shaft 43. The frame also has an arcuate slot 45 through which passes a bolt 46. The bolt 46 also passes through a circular hole in the main frame of the inker of proper size to receive it without substantial lost motion and a nut 41 is applied to the bolt. When the rame 42 is brought to a desired adjusted position the nut 41 i tightened upon .the bolt 46 so as to hold the portion of the frame about the arcuate slot 45 againstthe mainframe and thereby hold the frame 42 in the desired adjusted position. The drum shaft 28' is mounted in the frame 42. Likewise the rollers I4, I5, I6 and I8 are carried by the fram 42 and adapted to cooperate with the drum II, a clearly shown in Figure 3. V 7 7 Figurei shows the same structure as is shown in Figure 3 but with the form rollers 19', 20f'and 2I' of materially reduced diameter. Due'to such material reduction in diameter the form rollers I9 and 23 of Figure ehave been movedcloser' together as compared with the relative positions of these rollers as shown in Figure 3;-so a properly to cooperate with the roller 23; but the roll- 7 er 2| has not been moved either-toward or-away from the printing cylinder relatively ,tothe position it occupies in Figure 3. In order to; properly cooperate with the relatively'small form roller The other rollers carried by the frame 42.natural- 1y assume their proper cooperative positions relatively .to thedrum II as clearly shownjn the drawings. l .Ifhusproper cooperative-relationship can be unless desired.

maintained between'the ink supplying means and the outermost form roller despite changes in diameter of the latter without moving it toward the printing cylinder. As shown in Figure 4, the outermost form roller need not be moved at all essary to-movetheoutermostform rollerfarther away from the printing-cylinder upon reduction in size of such roller, but it can actually be moved toward the printing cylinder without adversely affecting the cooperative relationship therewith of the ink supplying mechanism and withthe added advantage of more effectively inking the form.

While I have shown and described certain present preferred embodiments of the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. The combination in a printing press with a reciprocating fiat bed carrying a printing form, of inking mechanism for the latter including. a plurality of form rollers adapted to engage said form, the permissible size of the form depending on the position of the rearmost form roller rel- .ative to the stroke of the bed, a distributing drum for supplying ink to said'form rollers, a pair of auxiliary rollers in contact with each other, one engaging said drum and the other engaging'said rearmost form roller, and means mounting at least one of said auxiliary rollers for movement relative to the drum and rearmost form roller to maintain contact with the latter despite shrinkage thereof without shifting the rearmost form roller along the path ofthe bed and thereby reducing the permissible sizeof the'form.

2. The combination in a printing presswith a reciprocating flat bed carrying a printing form. of inking mechanism for the latter including a plurality of form rollersadapted to engage said form, the permissible size of the form depending on the position of the rearmost form roller relative to the stroke of the bed, a distributing drum for supplying ink to said form rollers, roll mechanism having engagement with said rearmost form rollerand said drum and means mounting said mechanism for movement toward and from said rearmost form roller whereby to maintain contact with the latter despite shrinkage thereof without shifting the rearmost form roller along the path of the bed and thereby reducing the permissible size of the form.

3. The combination in a printing press with a reciprocating flat bed carrying a printing form. of inking mechanism for the latter including a plurality of form rollers adapted to engage said form, the permissible size of the form depending on the position of the rearmost form roller relative to the stroke of the bed, a distributing drum for supplying ink to said form rollers, a pair of auxiliary rollers in contact with each other, one engaging said drum and the other engaging said rearmost form roller, and means mounting at least one of said auxiliary rollers for substan-- tially horizontal movement relative to the drum and rearmost form roller, to maintain contact with the latter despite shrinkage thereof without shifting the rearmost form roller along the path of the bed andthereby reducing the permissible size of the form.

4. Inking mechanism fora printing press comprising a form roller subject to changes in size, a cylindrical member mounted to rotate about a fixed axis for delivering ink, transfer meansfor transferring ink: from said cylindrical member to said form roller, said transfer means-comprising a plurality of rollers at least one of which contacts said form roller and at least one of which contacts said cylindrical member, and means for mounting saidtransfer means whereby at-least one of the rollers thereof isshiftable to maintain contact with said :form roller upon changes in size of said form roller.

5. 'Inkingmechanism for a printing press comprising a plurality of form roller at least one of which is subject to changes in size, a cylin-' drical member mounted to rotate about a fixed axis for delivering ink, transfer means for transferring ink from said cylindrical member to said and means for mounting said transfer roller whereby the same is shiftable to maintain ccntact with said last mentioned form roller upon changes in size of said last mentioned form roller.

6. Inking mechanism fora printing press comprising a frame, a plurality of form rollers subject to changes in size, ink'delivering' means, transfer means for transferring inkfrom'said ink delivering means to an outer form roller, said transfer means comprising a cylindricalmember contacting said last mentioned form-roller, means for mounting said cylindrical member whereby the same is shiftable to maintain contact with said last mentioned form roller upon changes in size of said last mentioned form roller, the remaining form roller or rollers being positioned out of the pathof said cylindrical member when the-same is so shifted, and means fastening said mounting meanstothe frame in desiredadjusted positions to fixedly position the same-to insure member and *said last =m'entioned' form 'roller to deliver ink to said -last mentioned for-m reller until said last mentioned form roller undergoes substantial diminution in size.

'7. Inking mechanism for a printing press comprising a frame, a plurality of form rollerssubject to changes in size, a cylindrical member mounted to rotate about a fixed aXis for delivering ink, transfer means for transferring ink from said cylindrical member to an outer form roller, said transfer means comprising a transfer roller contacting said outer form roller, means for mounting said transfer roller whereby the same is shiftable to maintain contact with said outer form roller upon changes in size of said outer form roller, the remaining form roller or rollers being positioned out of the path of said transfer roller when the same is so shifted, and means fastening said mounting means to the frame in desired adjusted positions to fixedly position the same to insure continuance of contact between said transfer roller andsaid outer form roller to deliver ink to said outer form roller until said outer form roller undergoes substantial diminutioninsize.

8. Inking mechanism for a printing press comprisin-g a frame, a plurality of form rollers subiect to changes in size, an ink supply; ink delivering means for delivering ink from the ink supply to an outer form roller, said ink delivering means including a transfer roller contacting said outer form roller and in ink delivering relation with said ink supply for delivering ink from the inksupply to said outer form roller, means for mounting said transfer roller whereby the same is shiftable relatively to said ink supply to maintain contact with said outer form roller upon changes in size of said outer form roller while continuously maintaining ink delivering relation with said ink supply without necessitating moving said outer form roller alon the form, the remaining form roller or rollers being positioned out of the path of said transfer roller when the same is so shifted, and means fastening said mounting meansto the frame in desired adjusted positions to fixedly position the same to insure continuance of contact between said transfer roller and said outer form roller to deliver ink to said outer form roller until said outer form roller undergoes substantial diminutioninsize.

9. Inking mechanism for a printing press comprising a frame, a plurality of form rollers subject to changes in size, an ink supply, ink delivering means for delivering ink from the ink supply to an outer form roller, said ink delivering means including a transfer roller contacting said outer form roller and'in ink delivering relation with said ink supply for delivering ink from the ink supply to said outer form roller, a pivoted support for mounting said transfer roller whereby upon pivoting of said support said transfer roller is Shiftable relatively to said ink supply to maintain contact with said outer form roller upon changes in size of said outer form roller while continuously maintaining ink delivering relation with said ink supply without necessitating moving said outer form roller along the form, the remaining form roller 01- rollers being positioned out of the path of said transfer roller when the same is so shifted, and'means fastening said mounting means to the frame in desired adjusted positions to fixedly position the same to insure continuance of contact between said transfer roller and said outer form roller to deliver ink to said outer form roller'until said outer form roller undergoes substantial diminution in size.

10. Inking mechanism for a printing press comprising a frame, a plurality of form rollers subject to changes in size, ink delivering means, transfer means 7 for transferring ink from said ink delivering means to an outer form roller, said transfer means comprising a large diameter ink drum for working up the ink contacting said last mentioned form roller, means for mounting said ink drum whereby the same is shiftable to maintain contact with said last mentioned form roller upon changes in size of said last mentioned form roller, the remaining form roller or rollers being positioned out of the path of said ink drum when the same is so shifted, and means fastening said mounting means to the frame in desired adjusted positions to fixedly position the same to insure continuance of contact between said ink drum and said last mentioned form roller to deliver ink to said last mentioned form roller until said last mentioned form roller undergoes substantial diminution in size.

11. Inking mechanism for a printing press comprising a frame, a plurality of form rollers subject to changes in size, an ink supply, ink delivering means for delivering ink from the ink supply to an outer form roller, said ink delivering means including a large diameter ink drum for working up the ink contacting said outer form roller and in ink delivering relation with said ink supply for delivering ink from the ink supply to said outer form roller, a pivoted support formounting said ink drum whereby upon pivoting of said support said ink drum is shiftable relatively to said ink supply to maintain contact with said outer form roller upon changes in size of said outer form roller while continuously maintaining ink delivering relation with said ink supply without necessitating moving said outer form roller along the form, the remaining form roller orrollers being positioned out of the path of said ink drum when the same is so shift- 

